Surveyor's Compass, c. 1805
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Daniel Boone would have carried a surveyor's compass much like this one on his surveying journeys. Surveyors measure out parcels of land for the owners of the land. Boone surveyed mostly areas of Virginia and Kentucky that had not yet been settled by Euro-Americans.
The Next Electronic Field Trip
December 15, 2011
Find sources of federal funding for EFTs in this PDF.
Downloadable American History
Lesson Plans from
and Colonial Williamsburg
"All About Explorers" Site Teaches Important Internet Skills
On first look, "All About Explorers" seems like a great site for students to obtain information about famous explorers like Henry Hudson and Lewis and Clark. But mixed in with factual biographical information on the explorers are misleading and downright false statements: Henry Hudson took photos of his journey, for example. This site was developed by teachers as a teaching tool for showing students the unreliability of websites and the importance of checking their facts. Included are lesson plans for teachers and search engine scavenger hunts for students.
12/05: A Good Book
Vodcast: Making Apple Cones
12/19: Crystal Carols
12/26: Great Hair
The Idea of America
A digital American history program that inspires and prepares high school students for active citizenship, developed by Colonial Williamsburg and distributed by Pearson Education.
Funding available for
Electronic Field Trips
20112012 Electronic Field Trip Scholarships
Daniel Boone was a frontiersman, explorer, surveyor, and hunter, who blazed a trail through the Cumberland Gap that enabled Euro-Americans to settle in lands belonging to Native American tribes. He and his family's lives were fraught with hardship and danger, but Boone continued to push westward until he finally settled in Missouri. In this lesson, students read passages of a biography of Daniel Boone, summarize these passages, and create a picture book about the life of Daniel Boone.
Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality
instructional materials about 18th-century
- Mapping Colonial America CD-ROM
- Duel in the Wilderness Paperback
- American Indian Bandolier Bag
Hands-on History Kit
21st Century Award
for Best Practices in Distance Learning, preK–12
United States Distance Learning Association, 2010
Distinguished Achievement Award Finalist 2011
Association of Educational Publishers
Quotation of the Month
"I can't say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days."
—Daniel Boone, as quoted in Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer (1993) by John Mack Faragher, p. 65.
Colonial Williamsburg for Teachers
Next month's e-newsletter will launch on Monday, January 9. We wish you a joyful holiday season and a happy New Year!